I need to replace these b/c grease went everywhere. Whats the best way to get to a CV joint.....what do i take off?

 

Well, jack the car up, unbolt the radius rod from the LCA and undo the lower ball joint so you can swing the knuckle away from the tranny and then the axles can just be pried out. I usually use a screwdriver to pry them. If you want to take the outer CV joint out you will need to undo the axle nut before you jack the car up.

If you just want to replace the boots, then the CV joint comes apart pretty easily once you take the boot off. Don't forget the circlip on the end before you try to take the axle apart. Fill with grease and re-assemble.

If that doesn't make sense, I don't know... a Helms manual would be a good investment.

 

no matter what the axles must be taken off?

 

Essentially you need to take the CV joint out. You can find ghetto brand kits that clip on without removal of the CV joint, however I would not trust those. Besides once your boot is broken you probably have debris and dirt in the CV joint which needs to cleaned out properly.

 

it's alot easier, and only marginally more expensive to replace the whole axle, which is what i do when i've got a boot tear.

but yeah, no matter what the axle's coming off. with new axles you simply replace the old--with a boot replacement you've got to pack the boot w/ grease, install it, etc etc.

 

replacing a whole axle assembly if there is a tear in the boot is retarded, if there is a tear in your shift boot do you replace all the shift cables?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdmh22luda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">replacing a whole axle assembly if there is a tear in the boot is retarded, if there is a tear in your shift boot do you replace all the shift cables? </TD></TR></TABLE>

It's not retarded, just a little more work than expected. I just replaced both of my half-shafts yesterday afternoon. A new (reconditioned, actually) axle cost me $60 after I got my core-deposit back. It's not a bad idea to replace them if you've got some miles on your car. It's just as much work to remove an axle as it is to replace a boot. Plus, you're guaranteed not to have any dirt/debris/road chunks inside your boot.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdmh22luda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">replacing a whole axle assembly if there is a tear in the boot is retarded, if there is a tear in your shift boot do you replace all the shift cables? </TD></TR></TABLE>

No its not. Figure this: If one of them tears because of age, wouldnt it make sense that since all of the boots are the same age, they would also have the same probability of tearing in the near future? If any of the boots tear, you have to take the axle out anyway, why not replace the entire assembly, and have ALL NEW boots and hardware? It makes perfect sense. I mean, if one valve guide goes bad, do you replace just one or all of them?

Neil

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdmh22luda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">replacing a whole axle assembly if there is a tear in the boot is retarded, if there is a tear in your shift boot do you replace all the shift cables? </TD></TR></TABLE>

you've obviously never replaced boots before and dealt with axle grease, unless you dont value your time and effort, then i guess yeah its retarded to go and spend an extra 10-20 bucks which will save yourself tons of time and 10x less mess to clean up.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Eddiebx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

you've obviously never replaced boots before and dealt with axle grease, unless you dont value your time and effort, then i guess yeah its retarded to go and spend an extra 10-20 bucks which will save yourself tons of time and 10x less mess to clean up.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Seriously. Pay $30 bucks at the dealership for the boot kit or pay $50 for a new axle at a parts store.

Replacing CV boot:
Disassemble suspension
remove axle
remove torn boot
clean up gobs of grease
install new boot
pack new boot
seal new boot
reinstall axle
reassemble suspension

Replacing axle:
Disassemble suspension
remove axle
replace axle
reassemble suspension

to the thread poster:

guess which one is easier? fyi, i've replaced boots by themselves, and i've replaced axles. unless you've got special axles that you don't want to part with, which may be the case for some, but probably isn't the case for you, you're better off replacing the whole thing. maybe your time and energy is worth nothing to you, but mine is worth something to me. I don't think retarded was the word you were really looking for. I think the word was

OWNED.

p.s. if you're gonna act like a ******* ******* when people who've done **** like this try to help you, you're better off not asking any ******* questions--cuz i sure as **** never want to help you again. have a nice day ********.

 

you dont have to remove the whole axle to replace the boot... i just replaced mine 3 days ago. take the tire off, remove a couple nuts, pop a couple ball joints, slide the brake/arm/rod assembly or whatever its called off the axle. check your manual. its like a 40-50 min fix, if that.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by plikit &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you dont have to remove the whole axle to replace the boot... i just replaced mine 3 days ago. take the tire off, remove a couple nuts, pop a couple ball joints, slide the brake/arm/rod assembly or whatever its called off the axle. check your manual. its like a 40-50 min fix, if that.</TD></TR></TABLE>

maybe for the outboard side. gotta remove the axle for the inboard boot, which is for some reason, the boot that always tears on me.

 

hey if i had the extra money when mine tore i might consider the whole axel route, however that was not the case and i like to inspect what i have. i guess i don't like the idea of getting someone else's abused axel.

 

bad-monkey all i am saying is that why would i pay twenty dollars for an extra half-hour of labor. It makes no sense to me as to why saving urself labor is better than saving urself money. And i dont understand how im owned

 

I just replaced BOTH of my half-shafts on Sun. It cost me $120 and 2 hrs of my afternoon. I needed 5 tools and my girlfriend to help hold the flashlight. Now, I don't have to worry about the other one going and I know that these half-shafts (which, while remanufactured, come with a warranty) won't go bad for quite a while.

It's your choice, but remember the 6 "P"s:

Proper Precautions Prevent Piss Poor Performance

 

did you make up this 6 p's? =p hehe i never heard em

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdmh22luda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">bad-monkey all i am saying is that why would i pay twenty dollars for an extra half-hour of labor. It makes no sense to me as to why saving urself labor is better than saving urself money. And i dont understand how im owned</TD></TR></TABLE>

you're owned because you're saying something is ridiculous when in fact, it's not.

but whatever, no matter.

an extra half hour of labor is worth more than $20 to me, cleaning up axle grease is a bitch. but hey everyone is different.

 

lol why do you think shops charge so much on labor? half hour would be about 60 bucks at some shops... spending a pinch more cash to save some labor...

 

just put the whole money issue aside for a minute, and look at it this way, it costs you roughly 30 bucks for a boot and grease and all that crap. you go replace the boot now, spend all that labor(if your paying a shop), or waste all that time if your DIYing.

your other boot is gonna go eventually too, so you want to go and waste another 30 bucks? and all that time or money on labor?

and finally what warranty do you get after you replace both boots? can you say none?

so in the end eventually u will spend the price of a reman axle, to end up with zero warranty, and double the time or money wasted taking them on and off and on and off.

while on the other hand you can spend the same amount of money on parts, replace the damn axle with a freakin reman one from autozone, call it a day, and have a lifetime warranty on the axle, so when you bust up aonther boot, you bring it back and get a new one for free.

cv joints and boots are wear items, deal with it.

 

Some kinda of boot camp type background (football, military, or other).

6Ps